/*
 * Copyright (c) 2000, 2004, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
 * ORACLE PROPRIETARY/CONFIDENTIAL. Use is subject to license terms.
 *
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 *
 *
 */

package java.awt.datatransfer;

import java.util.List;


/**
 * A FlavorMap which relaxes the traditional 1-to-1 restriction of a Map. A
 * flavor is permitted to map to any number of natives, and likewise a native
 * is permitted to map to any number of flavors. FlavorTables need not be
 * symmetric, but typically are.
 *
 * @author David Mendenhall
 * @since 1.4
 */
public interface FlavorTable extends FlavorMap {

  /**
   * Returns a <code>List</code> of <code>String</code> natives to which the
   * specified <code>DataFlavor</code> corresponds. The <code>List</code>
   * will be sorted from best native to worst. That is, the first native will
   * best reflect data in the specified flavor to the underlying native
   * platform. The returned <code>List</code> is a modifiable copy of this
   * <code>FlavorTable</code>'s internal data. Client code is free to modify
   * the <code>List</code> without affecting this object.
   *
   * @param flav the <code>DataFlavor</code> whose corresponding natives should be returned. If
   * <code>null</code> is specified, all natives currently known to this <code>FlavorTable</code>
   * are returned in a non-deterministic order.
   * @return a <code>java.util.List</code> of <code>java.lang.String</code> objects which are
   * platform-specific representations of platform- specific data formats
   */
  List<String> getNativesForFlavor(DataFlavor flav);

  /**
   * Returns a <code>List</code> of <code>DataFlavor</code>s to which the
   * specified <code>String</code> corresponds. The <code>List</code> will be
   * sorted from best <code>DataFlavor</code> to worst. That is, the first
   * <code>DataFlavor</code> will best reflect data in the specified
   * native to a Java application. The returned <code>List</code> is a
   * modifiable copy of this <code>FlavorTable</code>'s internal data.
   * Client code is free to modify the <code>List</code> without affecting
   * this object.
   *
   * @param nat the native whose corresponding <code>DataFlavor</code>s should be returned. If
   * <code>null</code> is specified, all <code>DataFlavor</code>s currently known to this
   * <code>FlavorTable</code> are returned in a non-deterministic order.
   * @return a <code>java.util.List</code> of <code>DataFlavor</code> objects into which
   * platform-specific data in the specified, platform-specific native can be translated
   */
  List<DataFlavor> getFlavorsForNative(String nat);
}
